Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of BAME health and social care workers have had occupational risk assessments as at 30 June 2020.

Helen Whately: The Department does not currently mandate the collection of data on the completion of occupational risk assessments from social care or National Health Service providers and therefore we do not hold information about the number of health and social care workers who have had completed occupational risk assessments by 30 June 2020.Employers have a legal duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their staff under the The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Completing risk assessments for at-risk members of staff is a vital component of this. NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to all NHS organisations on 24 June requiring them to complete risk assessments for high risk staff within four weeks and to publish metrics to demonstrate compliance.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government (a) is taking and (b) plans to take protect (i) the BAME community, (ii) people in the most deprived areas (iii) older people and (iv) people with medical conditions that put them at greater risk from the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch MP) is reviewing the findings from Public Health England’s reports to better understand the drivers behind the disparities and the relationships between the different risk factors. Her work will help us to improve understanding of the virus and who it affects so we can build on the existing action we are taking to tackle health inequalities. This includes, for example, our childhood obesity plan, National Health Service health checks, our tobacco control plan and diabetes prevention programme.In addition, the NHS Long Term Plan commits all major national programmes and every local area across England to set out specific measurable goals and mechanisms by which they will contribute to narrowing health inequalities over the next five and ten years. As areas vary, so will the focus of their goals.

Disease Control

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the R value of (a) covid-19, (b) seasonal influenza and (c) measles.

Jo Churchill: The latest value of ‘R’ for COVID-19 is estimated each week and published by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-number-in-the-uk The ‘R’ value for seasonal influenza and measles are not assessed regularly as rates of infection and are measured in a different way. A variety of data sources are collated to provide information on circulating influenza strains. In-season and end-of-season monitoring of seasonal influenza vaccine uptake and vaccine effectiveness is undertaken. Public Health England’s (PHE) ‘Flu annual report: winter 2019 to 2020’ is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-flu-reports PHE have published the ‘Measles and rubella elimination UK strategy’ which includes information on transmission of measles and how to reduce transmission rates. This report is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-and-rubella-elimination-uk-strategy

Protective Clothing: Contracts

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of companies that have signed personal protective equipment contracts with his Department that have subsequently had those orders delayed by the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The Department does hold the data in the format required. Over 30 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been ordered by the Department from over 175 United Kingdom-based manufacturers and international partners to provide a continuous supply in the coming months. We have a robust process which ensures that orders are of high quality standard, meet commercial due diligence and checked for risk and fraud. All contracts are monitored by the Department for the delivery and safe receipt of the PPE and any compliance issues are followed up.

Social Services: Coronavirus

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that there is adequate (a) provision of covid-19 testing facilities for (i) care homes and (ii) other social care settings and (b) co-ordination between local authorities and social care providers in preparation for the potential imposition of regional covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Helen Whately: Following the success of the whole home testing programme, we announced the next stages in our testing strategy on 3 July. This includes regular retesting for care homes and enhanced outbreak testing for care homes.We will be expanding our retesting service to all care homes from 31 August 2020. This retesting service has been prioritised in care homes for older people and people with dementia, and we aim to reach all of these homes by 7 September 2020. We continue to issue over 50,000 tests a day to care homes across the country, with the majority of these in high priority outbreak areas.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is his policy on those in (a) care homes or (b) residential care units  to require a (i) quarantine period or (ii) covid-19 test to be undertaken if they do return home for (A) a short period or (B) overnight.

Helen Whately: We are aware that limiting visits has been difficult for many families and care home residents who want to see their loved ones. Guidance for visits out of a care homes is under development and will be published shortly.

Autism: Coronavirus

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of lockdown on the wellbeing of people with autism; and what steps the Government plans to take to meet the needs of people with autism over the coming months during the covid-19 outbreak.

Helen Whately: The Government recognises that social distancing and self-isolation are likely to increase the risk of loneliness and mental health issues for everyone, including for autistic people and their families and carers.We have provided funding to and are working with a range of charities to boost their online and helpline capacity so that they are able to provide advice, support and signposting to services to a greater number of autistic people and their parents and family carers.We have commissioned research to improve our understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 on autistic people and their families as a result of the pandemic and we are identifying any new actions that could be included in the refreshed autism strategy in response to the pandemic.

Social Services: Reform

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish legislative proposals to reform the social care system.

Helen Whately: The Government’s priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.This does not diminish the need for a long-term plan for social care. Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges that our society faces. There are complex questions to address, to which we want to give our full considerations in light of the current circumstances.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support is available to people infected with covid-19 who experience symptoms more  than 2 weeks after diagnosis.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to (a) allocate funding and (b) provide support for rehabilitation and recovery programmes for people recovering from covid-19.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to support patients with long-term symptoms arising from contracting covid-19.

Helen Whately: The National Health Service and the wider scientific community are currently working to better understand the disease course of the COVID-19 virus, including the severity and duration of symptoms. The UK Research and Innovation – National Institute for Health Research ‘Rapid Response Rolling Call’ has funded a large post-hospitalisation study. The study, announced in July, will establish a national consortium and a research platform embedded within clinical care to understand and improve long-term outcomes for survivors following hospitalisation with COVID-19. NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust to develop a digital, interactive, personalised recovery programme for people recovering from COVID-19. The new ‘Your COVID Recovery’ service, which was announced on 5 July, forms part of NHS plans to expand access to COVID-19 rehabilitation treatments for those who have survived the virus but have not fully recovered.

Care Homes: Recruitment

Sir Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on ensuring that care homes and care providers can continue to recruit staff from outside the UK in the event that vacancies remain unfilled when advertised to the domestic labour market; and if will make a statement.

Helen Whately: The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Home Secretary have regular discussions about the design of the future Points-Based Immigration system. The independent Migration Advisory Committee has repeatedly advised that migration should not be a solution to workforce shortages in social care. We recognise that the changes to the immigration system and the ending of freedom of movement will mean that social care employers will need to redouble efforts to promote jobs in social care to workers in the United Kingdom.In order to attract more people into social care, we launched a new national recruitment campaign, ‘Care for others; Make a difference’ and an online platform to fast-track recruitment, which sits alongside many local initiatives that have been put in place to recruit staff.